Theme 01: “How would you describe Makoto Tachibana in one word?”
Rei: When speaking of Makoto-senpai, the fact that he is a reliable senpai who started the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and brilliantly lead us as the club captain, comes to mind! I respect him very much! Also, together with Haruka-senpai, I guess you can say they “breathe like A and Un.” Their relationship is truly beautiful…! (T/N: A-un no Kokyuu is an idiom that describes two people who are so in-tuned they are able to understand each other without using words or gestures)
Sousuke: Makoto just coddles him too much.
Haruka: What do you mean?
Sousuke: I said what I said.
Rei: Please, both of you! ….ahem…so, if you’re to describe Makoto-senpai in one word…
Haruka: Sloppy.
Sousuke: Big.
Rei: Huh!? Those are such insincere answers…!
Haruka: No it’s not. He doesn’t put the dishes back to the same place, and he leaves his laundry scattered around.
Sousuke: I don’t see many guys who meet my eye level, so he’s tall, right?
Haruka: He told me recently that he’s grown taller again at a physical exam for new students.
Sousuke: Seriously?
Rei: U-um… ehh, Makoto-senpai is, very kind and gentle…
Haruka: …you think so?
Rei: Huh? He is not!?
Sousuke: I don’t think someone who has such a hungry and powerful swimming style should be described as gentle.
Haruka: Rei, you too felt it when you swam with him, right?
Rei: Is, is that so…? But, there is also a gentle side to him, such as how he often shared half of his ice pop with Haruka-senpai after club activities…
Sousuke: He did that, huh? Buy your own ice pop, Haru.
Haruka: Shut up… it makes my stomach cold, so I don’t want to eat the whole thing myself, that’s all.
ERASE the idea that America saved lives by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan from your minds. ERASE the idea that it was anything more than a political move to scare Russia and also to satiate US curiosity as to the true ability of nuclear weapons. Nagasaki and Hiroshima were not military bases. They were heavily populated civilian cities chosen precisely bc the U.S. wanted to see how many people an atomic bomb could kill in one go. Japan was on the verge of surrendering, the U.S. literally wanted to test out their nuclear weapons on people that they deemed disposable. That is it. If those bombs were dropped by any nation other than the US veryone involved would have been tried as war criminals.
Also erase the idea that America was the hero of WWII and got into the war because they wanted so save people. They couldn’t have cared less about the victims of the Holocaust, proven by the fact that they turned away so many shiploads of refugees that went on to die at the hands of Nazis.
“the us wanted to see how many people an atomic bomb could kill in one go” oh really? Source your bullshit, asshole
i left out sources bc i figured most tumblr users know how to use google but ok
“Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey’s opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945 and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.” - page 52-56
- Dwight Eisenhower future president and then Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces also said:
“I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to [the then Secretary of War] my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.” - page 380
- Admiral William Leahy, one of the highest ranking officials in the US army during WW2 wrote of the usage of the bombs:
“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. […] My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.” - page 441
- General Douglas McArthur, another high ranking US official in the war:
“[When asked about his opinion on bombing Japan] He replied that he saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb. The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor.” - page 70-71
- On September 9, 1945 Admiral William F. Halsey commander of the Third Fleet publicly quoted as saying:
“The first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment… . It was a mistake to ever drop it… . [the scientists] had this toy and they wanted to try it out, so they dropped it… . It killed a lot of Japs.” - online source
- The US secretary of war, Henry Stimson, speaking to President Truman:
“I was a little fearful that before we could get ready the Air Force might have Japan so thoroughly bombed out that the new weapon [the atomic bomb] would not have a fair background to show its strength.” - diary of Henry Stimson which can be found online here
- Even those deploying the bombs questioned the decision to drop them on civilian cities:
“I thought that if we were going to drop the atomic bomb, drop it on the outskirts–say in Tokyo Bay–so that the effects would not be as devastating to the city and the people. I made this suggestion over the phone between the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and I was told to go ahead with our targets.” - online source
- Lewis Strauss Assistant to the Navy Secretary James Forrestal on the locations of the bombings:
“I remember suggesting […] a large forest of cryptomeria trees not far from Tokyo. The cryptomeria tree is the Japanese version of our redwood… I anticipated that a bomb detonated at a suitable height above such a forest… would lay the trees out in windrows from the center of the explosion in all directions as though they were matchsticks, and, of course, set them afire in the center. […] Secretary Forrestal agreed wholeheartedly with the recommendation.” - page 145
So to recap:
A lot of American generals were against using the bomb as they felt it served an empty purpose.
Those who agreed with its usage completely disagreed with dropping them on cities.
Truman went ahead and had them detonated in two highly populated civilian cities anyway. Two cities that had remained mostly untouched by regular bombings throughout the war precisely bc of their lack of value to the Japanese war effort.
Draw your own conclusions.
I hope y'all know that this is common knowledge to everyone of every other country
Well, nearly every other country. European countries have their share of misinformation and propaganda concerning the role of the US in WWII as well. So it’s good to spread this type of information widely over the whole world.
Makoto: Hehe, Asahi is struggling with Tsukushi-kun.
Hiyori: So that kid is called Tsukushi-kun.
Makoto: Yeah, he’s Asahi’s nephew. Toono-kun, I heard that you like cafes. What do you think of Marron?
Hiyori: I like the atmosphere. It’s exactly what an old-school coffeehouse would look like. If it serves good coffee, it’s usually a good cafe.
Makoto: That’s amazing, you know the taste of coffee! For me, black coffee is too bitter…
Hiyori: I think it’s just a matter of getting used to it. Tachibana-kun, isn’t there food that you’ve only learned to eat recently? Besides, I’m sure it’d be hard to keep that physique of yours if you don’t watch your diet, right?
Makoto: Hmm, actually I’m not particularly conscious about what I eat. But I’m in the habit of doing things like weight training and running, so I’m still continuing with those. Maybe I’m just the kind to build muscles easily in the first place…
Hiyori: Really, I’m so envious! My body is pretty toned as well, but I’m still not quite there. So where do you swim now, Tachibana-kun?
Makoto: Hmm, I swim at the community pool a few days a week, I think? Haru goes here often, too, so he tells me things like the latest regimen he’s been practicing. I wonder if the training regimen is different between Hidaka and Shimogami.
Hiyori: I’d think there’ll be some differences… that’s right. They just said there’s gonna be a meeting for a joint practice. Why don’t you come to join us? You study like, sports education? Something like that? There’s probably lots we can consult you about.
Makoto: Huh, is it something I can go to?
Hiyori: Why not? Judging from the way they’re talking about it, the joint practice is more like a social gathering than an actual club activity anyway.
Makoto: Hehe, Toono-kun, that’s rather kind of you.
>>> High School 2nd Year Memories (Makoto & Nagisa)
Nagisa: So, Mako-chan! What comes to mind when we talk about memories from 2nd-year high school?
Makoto: Huh? Well, let’s see… I reunited with you, and we created the swimming club…and I suddenly made Captain…
Nagisa: Eeeh~, Mako-chan, you did a really good job as the captain, though!
Makoto: Ahaha, I’d be happy if I really did fulfill my role properly.
Nagisa: You’re fine, you’re fine! Oh, and also, Gou-chan came along, and so did Rei-chan!
Makoto: We started out by fixing up the swimming pool. It was a lot of work, but also lots of fun.
Nagisa: Oh, speaking of which, a while ago, Rei-chan discovered something reeeally amazing in the club room. You’re the talk of the town right now at Iwatobi High School, Mako-chan~!
Makoto: Eh…I have a bad feeling about this…
Nagisa: Mako-chan, remember how you were asked by Gou-chan to participate in the muscle contest a couple of times?
Makoto: Y-yeah…
Nagisa: Actually, we found a commemorative photo of that time when you won the contest!! Posing like this!!
Makoto: Eeh!?
Nagisa: And because you looked soooo cool in that pose, we’ve hung the picture on the wall in the locker room~☆
Makoto: Y-you hung it up!?
Nagisa: And after that, everyone started calling you “Muscle-senpai” during swimming lessons! So you’re really popular now, Mako-chan! Hehe, how funny is that!?
Makoto: I-it’s not funny at all! P-please stop it, I’m asking you…///!!
Nagisa: I’ve gotta practice lots and lots, so I can have muscles like Mako-chan, too!
